Lazaretto

If The White Stripes' sound was defined by its crisply rendered minimalism, then Jack White's still unfolding solo career is all about the embrace of freewheeling exploration and sonic unpredictability. As with Blunderbuss, its predecessor, Lazaretto encompasses an unwieldy breadth of tactics. The title track grafts progressive folk to synth-rock. White then turns around and unloads pure country-rock with the fiddle-laced "Temporary Ground." One of the best cuts is "High Ball Stepper," instrumental blues-rock that benefits from an arrangement that's collage-like in its disjointed pattern-work.